5 Fancy Dishes That are Easy to Prepare

As a caterer, your main goal should be to impress your clients and their guests. Customers hire caterers to provide exotic, fancy, and delicious food for a special event. Your customers want the catered food presented at their event to taste great, but they also want the dishes to look presentable and make a visual impression. Using a combination of great recipes and creative presentation will help you impress your customers and keep them coming back to you for all their catering needs.

One great rule of thumb for caterers is to add a fancy element to common dishes by making them individual or single-serving dishes. Guests will love to see their favorite family-style meals transformed into stunning individual serving sizes. This is the easiest way to make a plain or simple dish seem fancy and extravagant. If you are looking for some ideas for fancy dishes that are easy and cost-effective to prepare, the following five suggestions will give you some great catering menu deas.

Vegetable Snack Shot Glass

A snack of vegetables with dipping sauces may seem too simple for a special event, but the trick is in the presentation of this simple dish. Sliced vegetables are one of the easiest dishes to prepare, and this dish is also healthy, which will please your health-conscious clients. To make veggies and dip more appealing and a little fancier, place a small amount of dipping sauce in the bottom of a shot glass. Place sliced vegetables such as celery, carrots, or bell peppers in the shot glass. The final product will look like a flower arrangement in a miniature, individual vase. You can choose a dip that is fancier than traditional dressing by adding flavors such as lemon zest, cayenne pepper, or dried spices like clove and ginger.

Individual Pot Pies

Pot pies are one of the most comforting and hearty food items that you can serve to guests. However, slicing a pot pie for guests can be a little too casual. If you need to make this comfort food fancier, consider making individual pot pies by using oven-safe ramekins for baking. Create a filling using something unexpected such as lobster or lamb. These rich fillings are perfectly paired with a flaky, golden crust, and your guests can pick up an individual pot pie in a serving line during the special event.

Sweet Dessert Singles

Dessert is one of the most important parts of a catered event. High quality and fancy desserts can put the finishing touches on an extravagant evening, so it's important to come up with something special. For a simple and fancy dessert, fill shot glasses with layers of flavored mousse such as chocolate and vanilla and top each dessert with fresh fruit.

Puff Pastries with Filling

Puff pastries made with layers of thin phyllo dough, butter, and savory filling are charming, a little fancy, and super easy to make. You can find hundreds of puff pastry recipes that will be perfect for your catered events.

Bundled Vegetables

If you need to make a vegetable side a little fancier, consider wrapping sliced vegetables in bacon and dusting them with brown sugar and garlic. The saltiness of the bacon pairs wonderfully with the sweet garlicky flavor of the vegetables for a delightful, fancy, and easy dish.

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